Student Petition

Dear USC Colleagues, Staff, & Community:

Did you know that an overwhelming majority of the highly qualified professors at USC that teach and mentor us are non-tenured, contingent faculty?

USC is a prestigious university that prides itself on academic excellence, and the faculty who work to maintain this high standard of education deserve fair compensation. Instead, the university treats our part-time, non-tenure professors as temporary employees with low pay, limited benefits, and no job security. Even after many years of dedicated service to our university, they are paid by class and are not guaranteed these classes every semester. Full-time, non-tenure faculty are concerned with the lack of transparency in regards to very important policies, from one department to another, there is no standard on how to get promoted or how the promotion process works.

Faculty employment conditions directly affect our education. USC faculty are the foundation of this educational institution’s success. We, as students, receive a world-class education delivered by talented and experienced educators deeply invested in student achievement. However, many of these educators are struggling to make ends meet.

It is time to hold USC accountable. The stability of students’ education depends on it. Faculty should not be living paycheck-to-paycheck while the university rakes in millions. There are no standards and transparency in salary for full-time, non-tenure faculty and in many instances a new faculty member can get paid at a higher rate than an existing faculty member doing the same work. Forming a union means creating a community of faculty who can stand up for their rights and have a strong voice in this institution.

As students, alumni, and members of the Trojan family, we support non-tenure track faculty in their right to unionize. We call upon the administration to remain neutral throughout the organizing process, and to not use our tuition dollars to oppose the unionization effort. We pledge to speak out against any coercive or deceptive tactics, intimidation, or retaliation that may result from faculty exercising their right to organize.

*SIGN THE PETITION AND JOIN US IN A COLLECTIVE ACTION TO SUPPORT OUR NON-TENURE FACULTY. FIGHT ON!

student-petition

We, the undersigned, support the right of contingent faculty at the University of Southern California to form their union. We ask that administration remain neutral and not use student tuition funds or other college resources to oppose the unionization effort; and we pledge to speak out against any intimidation or retaliation that may be a result of contingent faculty invoking their right to organize.